Transitions of care, pediatric dosing, and use of high-alert or narrow therapeutic index drugs all demand additional verification steps, clear labeling, and thorough counseling to protect patient safety.

Allergy information must be taken seriously. The technician should immediately stop processing the prescription and notify the pharmacist so they can evaluate the reaction risk and contact the prescriber if necessary.

Using a calibrated counting tray and spatula, counting in consistent groups, and double-checking the final count—especially for high-alert or narrow therapeutic index drugs—reduces the risk of dosing errors.

Using tall-man lettering, storing similar drugs in separate locations, and carefully confirming the drug name and strength on both the label and prescription help reduce the risk of look-alike/sound-alike mix-ups.

Bar-code technology checks the scanned product against the prescription in the system, helping ensure the right drug, dose, and form are selected and significantly reducing human selection errors.

Using a second identifier, such as date of birth or address, prevents mix-ups between patients with the same or similar names and is a key practice standard for maintaining medication safety.

Near-misses reveal weak points in the medication-use process even though no harm occurred. Documenting them allows the pharmacy team to analyze causes and improve systems to prevent future errors.

High-alert medications should be stored in clearly labeled, restricted, or segregated areas to reduce the chance of selection errors. A technician should alert the pharmacist and help move the product to a safer location.

When a prescription is illegible or the dose seems inappropriate, the technician must pause the fill process and ask the pharmacist to contact the prescriber for clarification before dispensing.